Wednesday, 16th April 2008

A temple that Aladdin would be proud of

Kayla Maskell

There will be no genie or magic lamp, but Harpal Singh described the finished product of Shepparton's first Sikh temple as something similar to the palace of Agrabah in the Walt Disney animation Aladdin.

A final coat of paint, inside fittings and decorative domes are still to be added, but the Doyles Rd building is due to be finished by June.

Mr Singh, who is the secretary of Shepparton's Punjabi Cultural Association, said the temple, or Gurdwara as it is known to Sikhs, had been a long time in construction.

``The land was bought in 1999 but it did not start getting built until 2005,'' he said.

``It's coming to an end now. We have started painting and laying carpet, so it's very exciting.''

Shepparton is home to about 50 Sikh families, or more than 120 people, who currently use the Punjabi Association's Wilmot Rd building for prayer.

But Mr Singh said as the community continued to grow, the current place of worship was getting too small.

``We want somewhere that all Sikhs can come for prayer and the temple is also used for congregation and celebrations for births and marriages and sometimes festivals,'' he said.

The two-storey temple includes an open carpeted area for prayer upstairs and a hall, kitchen, toilet and shower facilities downstairs.

Mr Singh said the project was expected to cost $1million, which the Sikh community had raised.

Sikhism's belief is that there is one god for all of creation and that prayer is performed twice a day.

Guru Granth Sahib the Sikh Holy Scripture was the eternal Guru of the Sikhs with the origin of their religion traced to Punjabi Indians.

 

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